Stuck With You
by Yumesuta
Summary: The Planet decided to give Aeris and Sephiroth another shot at life...for a price. In order to stay alive, they have to get along with each other for one month. Will they be able to? SephirothxAeris
1. The Trial Begins

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII. If I did, my computer would actually WORK…

Note: In this fic, Aeris is alive, and it's also SephAeris…just a warning.

Second Note: As hard as I try to make everyone in character, I may slip occasionally and make them OOC. If I do this, I'm sowwie.

Third Note: _When a sentence is like this, it's probably a thought. "When dialogue is entirely like this, it's the Planet speaking." _When dialogue and sentences are like this, it's normal dialogue and normal sentences.

* * *

Chapter 1: The Trial Begins

"_Arise, Cetra, from the eternal sleep. You have been given a second chance. Follow the Lifestream—it will lead you to life. This will be your true trial…if you succeed, you may live, but if you fail, the Lifestream will take you again…it is your choice."_

Aeris heard these words, and the next thing she knew, she was lying on her back on a very uncomfortable rocky surface. The brunette Cetra sat up, brushing off her pink dress, then noticed the tear in front and felt her back, finding the rip's twin. She moved the fabric apart slightly so she could see the scar.

"Sephiroth," she growled. "Well, I'm free of you now…"

* * *

"_Arise, one who was betrayed by all that you knew, defeated by the puppet. You have been given another chance to prove yourself, to make right what you did wrong. This is your trial. If you fail, the Lifestream will take you back to its darkest banks…if you succeed, you may live."_

Sephiroth opened his eyes, finding himself in the Northern Crater, exactly in the spot Cloud had defeated him. There were scars all over his body where the Omnislash attack had cut him, but he wasn't bleeding. Feeling through the darkness, he found his Masamune but couldn't find his trench coat.

"What now?" he muttered, standing up. "First I suppose I have to get out of this place…"

* * *

After a while, Aeris realized that she wasn't just lying on hard rock, she was lying in snow—very, very cold snow. She wasn't sure where she was, but she wanted to find warmth, and fast.

Before _too _long—meaning in under a day—she found a small town. There was a child playing with a sled nearby, along with other people scattered throughout. She figured most people were inside.

"Um, excuse me," Aeris said to the kid.

"Huh? Whaddaya want, lady?" the kid asked.

"…Can you tell me what town this is?"

"What, you crossed the ocean, climbed all the way up that mountain, and went through that cave and ya don't know? This is Icicle," the kid said, obviously suspicious.

"Oh…Okay, thank you," Aeris said. She looked around and headed towards a shop to buy a replacement dress and a coat. Once that was done, she tried to think of a way to get back to the Midgar continent.

* * *

Sephiroth climbed out of the crater and eventually got over the mountains without hurting himself too much. He defeated the monsters that attacked him fairly easily, but he was a bit rusty after being dead for who knows how long.

Even though he was shirtless, he wasn't very cold. The snow and ice was chilling, yes, but not as freezing as it may be to a normal human. Even so, he wasn't immune to fatigue, and though he was against the idea of staying at a town, the one he saw in the not-so-distant distance might be his only choice. So, he went to the town, which he recognized—Icicle.

After a few minutes (half of an hour, actually), he reached the town. No one seemed to pay much attention to him, perhaps because his hair almost blended in with the snow. Some people gave him odd looks, saying "Aren't you cold, though?" Most people ignored him, however, because most people were inside.

He scanned the town. Maybe he wouldn't stay here, after all. He didn't like the idea of being around people again, not yet, anyway. He passed through quietly, but accidentally tripped over a pink-clad woman who had been sitting down.

"OW!" Aeris said, and stood up. "Watch where you're goi—" Then she saw Sephiroth, and backed away.

"Is something wrong, Cetra?" the ex-general asked in a bored tone, pushing himself off of the cold ground, then standing up.

"You…you're the one who killed me!"

"Hmm? Which one were you again? …Oh yes. The flower girl," Sephiroth said, shrugging.

"You…jerk!" Aeris cried, her gently nature not allowing her to say the much harsher words she had in mind.

Sephiroth would have rolled his eyes if he wasn't so stoic. "Yes, well. I must be going now." But before he could take a step, everything went black, though he was still standing. He looked around. Aeris was in the void as well.

"Don't look at me! I didn't do it!" she shrieked.

"_This is your trial."_

"Huh?" the two said in unison.

"…_This is the Planet speaking."_

"Ohhhh," they chorused.

"_Yes, shocking, I know. Anyway…This is your trial."_

"Being stuck in a dark void with this person is my trial?" Aeris asked.

"_Not quite. Your trial is…getting along,"_ the planet said.

"Um?" Sephiroth asked questioningly.

"_Perhaps I should explain in terms you understand…of course, not that you're dumb or anything. Neither of you are. Your trial is to get along. If you can go through one month, getting along with each other, you will be granted life and will not have to be stuck in the Lifestream until your natural deaths. However, if you don't get along, I will take you back to the Lifestream again."_

"…"

"_I know you are asking, 'Why?' It is because both of you wish to live. Both of you have something you still wished to do before you died. However, before you may live, you must prove to me that you are truly willing to roam the Planet for the decades to come. I do not need more violence scarring my surface…if you learn to be peaceful with each other, your blood will no longer stain your death spots. Good luck…"_

The black void turned back into the cold scenery of Icicle.

"This will be…difficult," Sephiroth observed, turning to look at Aeris.

"You think?" Aeris snorted. "If we're going to be stuck with each other, can you at LEAST get a shirt or something?"

The Sephiroth fangirls sighed in disappointment as the silver-haired man bought another trench coat and put it on.

* * *

Yumesuta: Sorry if that chapter's kinda stupid…It'll get better, I promise! Anyway, if you are reading this sentence, could you please review? I love reviews… 


	2. The Blizzard

Disclaimer: You know the drill…

Note: Gasp! People actually LIKE my story? 5 reviews on one chapter…the FIRST chapter without me adding other chapters at that! IT'S A NEW RECORD FOR ME! Thank you reviewers! You get cookies! Take one!

Second Note: Ha. I took the idea from this chapter from one of my reviewer's reviews. You'll know who you are after you read it! Thanks for giving me the idea!

Third Note: Possible (or definite) OOC-ness of both main characters ahead…but hopefully the chapter will be a bit longer than the last one.

Fourth Note: Just a reminder…_"Dialogue entirely like this is the Planet speaking."_ "Dialogue like this is normal conversation between characters." _Sentences and paragraphs like this are thoughts._ Just plain words that are in _italics_ aren't anything special, just words that need extra emphasis but aren't important enough to be entirely CAPITALIZED.

* * *

Chapter 2: The Blizzard

"There's a blizzard coming," Sephiroth observed, watching the skies as an excuse to look at his companion as little as possible.

"Okay," Aeris said uneasily. "Is that a problem…?"

"Well, the only thing you're wearing other than that dress and those boots, as far as I know, is that coat, and you wouldn't exactly be able to trudge through ten feet of snow for seven miles," the ex-General said, glancing at the Cetra.

"Okay, but I'm also wearing—" Then Aeris remembered she was speaking to her enemy. "Er…never mind that…so what do you suggest we do?"

"Ordinarily, I'd leave you here to freeze, but the Planet won't exactly let me do that, so we'll have to stay here through the blizzard," Sephiroth shrugged.

"I suppose I'll just have to get used to the word 'we' applying to the two of us," the pink-clad Cetra muttered.

One walk to the inn later…

"There's only one room?" the silver-haired man demanded, clenching his jaw.

The innkeeper looked up from behind the counter nervously. "Well, yes…you see, many of the people here are only visitors and they don't have homes to retreat to in case of a blizzard…may I ask why only one room is a problem?"

"My companion and I aren't exactly willingly companions," Aeris offered.

"I see. How…odd…well, the blizzard should only last for tonight so you won't be stuck together for too long," the innkeeper said cheerfully.

_Moron,_ Sephiroth thought. "Fine. But I refuse to pay 200 Gil…"

"How about half-off?"

The silver-haired God pointed his Masamune at the innkeeper's face. "Not even worth that much."

"Okay…okay…how about 75 Gil?" the innkeeper asked, obviously scared.

"Not even that much—"

"Oh, shut up, I'm getting tired of standing here. I'll pay for it, all 75 Gil," Aeris sighed.

Sephiroth smirked, sheathing his ungodly long, pointy and sharp utensil of death, doom, pain and blood. "That works for me."

"Even though we have to share a room?" Aeris asked, reluctantly handing over the small handful of Final Fantasy money.

Sephiroth's eye twitched slightly, and he made odd, quiet hissing noises as he entered the inn room with Aeris.

"Well," Aeris said cheerfully, "at least there's more than one bed…"

"But there's only one room," Sephiroth muttered.

"We don't have to sleep in the exact same place…"

"But we have to sleep in the same room."

"…There's only one bathroom," the brunette Cetra observed.

Sephiroth's eye twitched. "I refuse to eat anything," he muttered. Then he smirked. "Hey, there IS more than one room…the bathroom! You can sleep there!"

"I was actually considering it," Aeris shot back.

"Good! Then it all works out…by the way, earlier, before we had to come to this godforsaken inn from hell, what else, besides your dress, coat, and boots, are you wearing?" the ex-General asked, smirking.

Aeris's lip twitched. "Why do you want to know?"

"Well, it'd bug you that I know, that's all…"

"Evil…"

A few hours of cold shouldering later…

"Excuse me," the innkeeper said, knocking on the door and opening it…since he, you know, owned the place and could do whatever he damn well pleased…

"Yes?" Aeris said.

"Um…More people have come and I need to borrow the…spare beds in your room," he said uneasily, eyeing the Masamune warily.

Sephiroth's eye twitched. "Can I stab you?"

"I'd prefer you didn't," the innkeeper said.

One unwanted removal of furniture later…

The two were standing across the room with their backs facing each other, arms crossed, glaring at the wall.

"It's getting late," Sephiroth observed.

"I'd go sleep in the bathroom but all the extra blankets were taken," Aeris muttered.

"I refuse to sleep on the floor," the ex-General muttered back.

"I WOULD but there's no rug."

"…Are you tired?"

"Unfortunately, I am. What about you, Mr. I-Have-No-Feelings?"

"Shockingly, yes," Sephiroth sighed.

"Oh, wonderful…"

A few minutes of hatred and an unwanted solution to fatigue and coldness later…

There was at least five feet between Sephiroth's and Aeris's bodies, but in their opinions it wasn't enough space.

"This…sucks," Aeris muttered.

"That's got to be the most profane word I have ever heard you regurgitate from your disgusting mouth, missy. How dare you," Sephiroth muttered back.

"I really hope this isn't like those gross movies, where the two people hate each other but end up…you know…" Aeris shuddered and moved an inch closer to the edge of the bed, which was as far as she could go without falling out.

"Wow, your mind isn't so pure now, is it?" Sephiroth hissed. "No way in HELL would it end up like that."

"Good."

"…Night, bitch," the silver-haired man growled.

"Night, psychotic freak," Aeris hissed back.

* * *

Yumesuta: That's the second chapter! I hope you like it…well…review please! Hmm, I wonder what chapter I can add some fluff in…um. Well I said it before but REVIEW! Please! 


	3. To The City!

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII, Aeris, Sephiroth, or anything else involved with that game…but I DO own the idea of sticking them together for an extended period of time against their wills and seeing where it leads. n-n

Note: Sorry about any OOC-ness ahead but when you're stuck with your mortal enemy (literally on Aeris's part) your bound to act just a wee bit different…

* * *

Chapter 3: To The City!

"Let's never, ever do that ever again ever," Aeris muttered, standing as far away as Sephiroth as possible as she headed towards the bathroom.

"I'm gonna go buy some Tents…enough that we won't have to share one. So hurry up in there and go buy what you need, I'm not shopping for you," the ex-General growled.

"Then buy your own tents, I'll get my own," the pink-clad Cetra muttered.

"Fine. I'm buying fifty for myself. If you have enough, by either fifty or a large even number for yourself," the man said as he exited the room.

Aeris did what she usually did in the mornings if she had time, before she died. Except, she didn't braid her hair, since she didn't have a ribbon. So, instead of using a ribbon she tore a piece off the hem of her dress and used it as a ribbon…half because she wanted her hair braided, half because she wanted to bug Sephiroth by taking so long.

Meanwhile, Sephiroth was in town doing something he wasn't used to doing—shopping. While it wasn't as degrading as shopping for clothes, some of the town people still stared at him. ("Look, Mommy, doesn't he look like that one evil dude? What if it IS him?" "He does look like him but don't be silly, dear. He's dead." "So that guy walking around is actually dead?" "No, dear, that's not what I meant. He just LOOKS like the evil man, but the evil man is dead." "So he looks dead?" "Just shut up…")

Sephiroth's eyelid twitched as he handed over the Gil in exchange for the fifty Tents, wishing to kill, or at least disable the voice box of, the little kid that had been speaking…though the little kid was actually a fifty-year-old jobless unmarried virgin that still lived with his mom.

"Where is that…thing?" he muttered, glancing at the Inn and at the other shops. The "thing" he was referring to, of course, was Aeris. "It does this just to annoy me…"

"Yes, but you're fun to annoy and I'm not a 'thing' or an 'it', I'm a she," Aeris said, walking up behind him.

"Silence!"

"…Okay, but that's not Seal Materia you're holding. In fact…that's just a shiny rock."

"I KNOW THAT! I meant stop talking!" Sephiroth snapped.

Aeris shrugged. "So, where do we go now?"

"The City of the Ancients, since I'm too lazy to climb over the mountains and swim in the Ocean of Death," Sephiroth said.

"Oh…okay," Aeris muttered. She liked the city but didn't really want to visit her own grave.

"Out of the way…I'm going to go see Mother," Sephiroth said.

"This guy are sick," Aeris replied.

There was a moment of awkward, confused silence, and then they went on their way to the cave that led to the City of the Ancients.

"Uh…hey, why are we going to the city again?" Aeris asked.

"Because I'm not staying in this Death Trap of Iciness forever, and if I leave you behind the Planet will kill us," Sephiroth explained impatiently. "After we get there, we're going…somewhere."

"Somewhere. WOW how SPECIFIC!" the pink-clad Cetra muttered sarcastically.

Five minutes with nothing interesting to write about later…

The couple-who-didn't-want-to-be-a-couple reached the cave.

"Okay. So. There's this ladder, and then we jump off of the ladder onto that cliff, and then we climb down through the crack," Sephiroth said in the tone of an army general.

"Um…how do we climb through the crevice?" Aeris asked.

"You push against the sides and…I don't know, ask Strife, he's the one that actually climbed. I just flew."

"You can fly, and yet we've been walking?"

"Yep!"

Aeris smacked her forehead. "Alright then. Let's just go."

Somehow, they managed to get through the crevice without arguing. Shocking, I know. Then they went down the spiral spiky shell thingy that I can't name without arguing...even more shocking. Then they reached the City.

"…This is the City," Sephiroth announced as though it wasn't obvious.

Aeris smacked him with her Princess Guard. "You think I don't KNOW that already?"

"When did you get that?" the ex-General asked, eyeing the Princess Guard as he rubbed the forming bump on the back of his head. (Not the ridiculous cartoon-style bumps that look like mini mountains, a normal, small bump that you'd get if your head got thwacked by a Cetra's weapon. You know that kind…or maybe not, since a Cetra/Ancient/Ancient Cetra has probably never whacked you.)

"Not funny," Aeris muttered angrily at the narrator, then put her weapon where it usually is…in thin air.

"You know, I've been wondering that myself," Sephiroth mused. "We kinda just, pull the weapons out of nowhere and fight each other…"

"Who knows?" Aeris said.

A passing Cactuar glared at them. "GET BACK TO THE FIC!" he screamed.

"Fic? What's a fic?" Aeris asked.

A few moments of confusion later…

"After we rest here…in _separate _buildings…we go to Midgar," said the silver-haired ex-Soldier guy-who-tried-to-be-God.

"Why Midgar?"

"Because I said so."

* * *

Yumesuta: Sorry if the chapter's kinda short…Writer's Block is EEEEVIL! Well, anyway, REVIEW OR ELSE!

You: Or else what?

Yumesuta: OR ELSE I WON'T CONTINUE THE FIC! MUAHAHAHAHA!


	4. Fly!

Disclaimer: It's not mine.

Note: Sorry for the wait! Writer's block is more evil than…than…than most things.

Second Note: For all of my reviewers, you get a COOKIE! (Hands you a cookie) YAY COOKIES!

Third Note: Sorry for all the OOC-ness ahead.

Fourth Note: "This is normal conversation." This is normal text. _This is text of someone thinking. "This is the Planet speaking."_

* * *

Chapter 4: Fly!

"Good morning," Aeris muttered sarcastically, sitting in front of the house she had stayed in through the night.

Sephiroth had stayed in the house next to that house. He was glad they had some distance. "Right…sarcasm is a bad thing, Cetra."

"No it's not. Sarcasm OWNS you."

"…No, it doesn't. Squaresoft owns me," the ex-General snorted.

"Squarewhat?" Aeris muttered, confused.

"I don't know…"

Aeris and Sephiroth blinked.

"Well, uh…I'm going to go take a bath in the lake before we go okay?" the pink-clad brunette said, then ran off in the general direction of the lake.

Sephiroth stared at her as she ran off. "It's a pond, woman…a POND!"

"WHATEVER!" she called over her shoulder.

"You'd better not take long," he growled, then leaned against the nearby house."

More than a few minutes later…

"You're oddly close to the lake," Aeris observed, raising one eyebrow.

"No, I'm not near the lake. I'm standing by what, for the time being, is your house. Just because I moved two steps closer doesn't mean I was moving to the lake," the ex-General snorted.

Many moments of glaring and rude gestures later…

"…Whatever. Let's just go to Midgar," Aeris mumbled, hurrying past her much disliked companion.

"By the way…"

"WHAT?" the brunette woman asked, whirling around, practically dropping her stuff that the author (A/N: Bad author! I slap myself.) forgot to mention she picked up in the first place.

_Oh, great Jenova, I'm stuck with a PMS-ing woman,_ Sephiroth thought, clenching his teeth. "WHY are you so embarrassed about what you're wearing under that obnoxiously pink dress of yours?"

Aeris's eye twitched, as it had before. "It's not obnoxiously pink, it's…just pink. And would YOU go revealing your private stuff to your worst enemy?"

"Maybe, depends on how tired I am, how sure I am I'll win, how much alcohol I've had—"

"You're odd."

"No, really? So THAT'S why I haven't seen any other silver-haired Gods with abnormally long weapons!" the ex-General yelled sarcastically. "And it's not that big of a deal! I just enjoy bugging you. So I will keep bugging you about it just for the pure joy of annoying you until we don't have to be together any more—"

"Red. Okay? Bright red with some lace! But not a lot of lace!" Aeris shrieked, then stomped off.

Sephiroth froze, pondered that for a moment, and then followed her (even though he deliberately knocked her down more than once so that he could take the lead).

"So, mister I-am-God-and-know-everything-even-what-I-shouldn't," the pink (and red)-clad brunette gasped, practically having to sprint to catch her partner. "Where to next?"

"First, we cross through that one excavation town place thingy, Bone Village, then we fly," Sephiroth explained in an extremely bored tone—a very bored tone, a tone so bored it could put a baby to sleep.

Aeris yawned but didn't fall asleep, because she wasn't a baby. "Fly?" Then she woke up some. "FLY? Are you insane?"

"Most likely."

"…I can't fly."

"Oh, no problem. Just don't let go, and even if I let go you most likely won't fall," the man said, a nice, wide, semi-evil smirk on his face.

"You can't kill me," Aeris breathed. "If you do, the Planet will kill you as well…"

"Oh, yes, but it never said I couldn't drop you."

Everything went black.

"_You can't kill or hurt each other…dropping is…if you drop her, it adds another day to your unwanted time together."_

"…One day shouldn't hurt," Sephiroth mused.

"YES IT WOULD!" Aeris shrieked, her eyes practically popping out.

"_I stand by my word. You should, too, really, because if you don't, you die…"_

The black void disappeared, and the unwilling couple found themselves at the shore.

"When we fly over this, and walk for a few miles, we shall arrive at Midgar," the ex-General said in the tone of a leader.

"…Have I ever mentioned I don't really like heights too much?" the Cetra gulped.

"Well, don't mention it now and don't look down…if you do…don't puke on me," Sephiroth said, picking up Aeris. She reluctantly wrapped her arms around Sephiroth's neck, butterflies (of fear, not love…probably…) zooming around her insides as they rose into the air and took off.

After a few moments of flying, the silver-haired man said, "This isn't too bad, is it?"

"It is to me. I either look down at the ocean, which is scary, look up at the sky, which is weird, or look at your face, which is disgusting," Aeris retorted.

"Yes, well, I don't exactly like holding on to you, either. Your hair keeps hitting my face, and at first it was still wet since you had just bathed," the man shot back.

"I was trying to listen to your heartbeat, then found you didn't have one, since you don't have a heart."

"Ouch. I'm SO insulted," the silver-haired ex-villain snorted. "Now don't make me drop you."

Aeris released her grip around Sephiroth's neck. "I dare you."

Sephiroth released his grip on the woman, allowing her to free fall until she was at least three feet away from the surface of the ocean—then he caught her, as she expected.

"That was…oddly…fun," Aeris said, giggling nervously, trying to catch her breath as she put her arms around his neck again.

"Then I won't do it again," the half-God said coolly. "Now shut up, we're almost there," he said as they (well, mainly he, as he was flying) landed.

* * *

Yumesuta: Finally, a chapter update! Woot-woot! Sorry, I was on vacation…I promise that, as an apology, if you make a request in a review, I'll try to put it in there. Well, anyway, REVIEW! Please… 


	5. Yellow Flowers, Yellow Hair

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Note: So sorry about the long wait! I haven't been on that much…

Second Note: I've decided that the very LEAST amount this fic is gonna have is 32 chapters! You know, to include a whole month (31 days—it's July, I suppose) plus one day for when Sephiroth dropped Aeris in the last chapter…so yeah. Yay.

Third Note: I'm a Cloud fan, and I like Cloris and Cloti the same. Also, I don't believe Cloud is an idiot, so don't expect me to bash him in this chapter, Sorry if that disappoints you…

* * *

Chapter 5: Yellow Flowers, Yellow Hair

"We're here! THANK YOU!" Aeris said desperately as Sephiroth landed and released her just outside the gates of Midgar. Aeris collapsed onto her knees and started bowing to the land.

"Get it together, you idiot," Sephiroth growled, yanking the Cetra woman up by grabbing a fistful of her hair and pulling her up that way.

"EEP!" the pink-clad flower girl cried, but the ex-General ignored her. "So what are we going to DO here, anyway?" she asked.

"I haven't figured that out yet," Sephiroth said coolly, ducking as to avoid getting thwacked in the side of the head by an angered Cetra fist. "I suppose you can go see if anyone still lives here that you know. Besides didn't you have some flower garden here or something stupid like that?"

"Oh, yeah. The flowers. I should probably check on those," Aeris mused absently, then entered the now cleaner metropolis.

"Just so you know, we AREN'T staying here overnight…you know those Midgar hotels, all of them only have one room," the silver-haired man said.

"My house has two bedrooms," said the Cetra. "So we could stay there if my mom doesn't mind."

Sephiroth snorted. "You still live with your mom?"

"Yes, but it's not like I'm a forty-year-old jobless bum who still lives with their mom. I couldn't find any other place to live in Midgar and I didn't want to leave Midgar and leave my garden," Aeris said coolly.

"You didn't want to leave your _garden? _It wouldn't even miss you! IT DOESN'T ACTUALLY FREAKIN' LIVE! IT'S A GATHERING OF PLANTS!"

"…Someone didn't get their morning coffee…"

"For your information, missy, I don't drink coffee."

"Are we going to my house or not?" Aeris asked, starting to get a tiny bit aggravated.

"…Fine."

As they walked to Aeris's house, Sephiroth stayed at least thirty feet behind her, creeping in the shadows when possible, which drew odd looks and one old lady saying, "Excuse me, miss, but I think you have a stalker."

Aeris attempted to smirk, but couldn't, so she just smiled. "No, he's just a confused old man who likes pretending to be a spy."

Once they reached Aeris's house, Sephiroth glared at his unwanted companion. "I am NOT a confused old man. I'm only in my thirties, and I'm not confused! And I CERTAINTLY don't like PRETENDING to be a SPY! I don't even like pretending!"

The pink-clad woman rolled her eyes and opened the door. "Mom, I'm home," she called. But as she searched the house, her mom (as those of us who finished the game know) no longer resided there. She found a note on the table:

_Aeris,_

_Welcome home! I no longer live here, though. I moved to a place in Kalm in order to get some quiet and safety. This house, then, belongs to you now! Feel free to come visit me._

_Love,_

_Mom_

Aeris shrugged and sighed, sliding the note into her pocket (which the author decided to give her). "I'm gonna check on the flowers at the church. Please don't break anything, okay?"

Sephiroth glared. "So you're leaving me alone in a cheerful, femininely decorated house surrounded by bright, happy flowers with an annoyingly calm song playing somewhere in the distance?"

"Yep. If you don't wanna be seen, lock the door and stay inside. Don't think you're locking me out, because whether you like it or not I have the keys with me," Aeris said, and exited the house.

Sephiroth's eye twitched slightly as he looked around the house. "Why is it that everything that has to do with that woman is always so calm-like? Even that song that started playing out of nowhere when I killed her was calm and serene and pretty! Well…for the sake of my reputation, maybe not pretty, but definitely calm."

At the Midgar church…

"I see nothing's changed," Aeris said quietly to herself, looking around the church as she entered. Her footsteps didn't seem to make a sound as she slowly walked up to the flowerbed. Then she noticed that someone else was there, as well…someone with hair the same yellow color as the flowers.

"…Cloud?" the pink-clad Cetra whispered. Well, it wasn't really a whisper, because whispers are more like making words when you breathe, and not really with your voice, if that makes any sense at all. But it was close enough to a whisper, so we'll just say she whispered.

Cloud looked up from where he was kneeling by the flowerbed, and stood.

"Cloud!" Aeris said.

"You're…not dead," he muttered, walking closer to her. Then he hugged her so tight she couldn't breathe, and yet she didn't really care. "How are you alive?" he asked.

Aeris told him about the Planet's deal, and his eyes narrowed slightly when she mentioned Sephiroth was alive too.

"So…How've you been?" she asked.

"Not bad, I guess…er…Tifa and I are married now," he said awkwardly.

Even though she felt like she was getting stabbed, Aeris smiled. "That's so sweet…"

"Either way, I'm extremely glad you're alive," Cloud said, smiling.

"…Glad you're happy. Good luck with you and Tifa. I have to go check on the flowers by my house now—I'm not really sure the Planet wanted me to meet up with anyone I knew before I died, so please don't follow. Bye," Aeris said, practically running out of the church.

Back at her house, the Cetra didn't even bother checking her flowers. She jammed her keys in the front door, flung it open, ran up to her room, locked her bedroom door, and threw herself down on her bed, sobbing into her pillow.

Sephiroth, despite his hatred for the girl, noticed how upset she obviously was and felt a tiny bubble of sympathy growing for her somewhere in his chest. So, he decided to go listen in to whatever she might be muttering to herself.

"…Married," he heard, pressing one ear against the door. "Of course he would be! I mean, I was dead already. I knew he loved her. Did I honestly expect him to wait for some miracle to happen? Whatever. As long as he's happy, I guess." Aeris's sobs had subsided as she began muttering to herself, but she still wasn't a very happy person.

Sephiroth crept back downstairs. Was it because of the Planet's trial and will that he felt sorry for her, or was she actually beginning to grow on him?

* * *

Yumesuta: Sorry for the long wait. Writer's block still invades my mind. Evil thing, writer's block is. Not much of a cliffhanger ending, I know, but it was the best I could think of! Sorry if this chappie wasn't as funny as the rest. Anyways, REVIEW! 


	6. Aeris's Makeover

Disclaimer: It does not belong to me, "it" referring to FF7.

Note: My writer's block has lifted…kinda…sorry about not being that creative in the last chapter. I have no excuses for that. Feel free to slap me.

* * *

Chapter 6: Aeris's Makeover

"No. No, no, no, no, no, no, NO! NO!"

Aeris blinked as she heard the ex-General screaming from downstairs, but decided to ignore it. Whatever was wrong with him, as long as it didn't threaten either of their lives, it wasn't her problem. She went back to picking out a new outfit—they seemed to be doing a lot of traveling, and a dress wasn't very practical for traveling. She also toyed with the idea of putting on some make-up and changing her hairstyle—just for the day, of course…

She tore through her wardrobe, tossing all of her clothing into two piles on her bed: one pile was the "I might possibly wear this" pile, and the second was the "I'm not wearing this because it's a replica of my trademark pink dress" pile.

Yes, half of her outfits were that pink dress she always wore…

After emptying the contents of her wardrobe, she stuffed the pink dresses back where they belonged and looked through her remaining pile. It was bigger than she had expected—it HAD to be Elmyra's doing; after all, when did Aeris really look through her wardrobe?

The Cetra woman continued looking through her clothes until she found something. She'd also given in to the idea of make-up and a new hairstyle just for the day and grabbed her hairbrush and some make up that she never remembered buying.

"Mom, maybe your shopping for things I wasn't gonna buy myself really did come in handy," she said, and began working on her new look.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Sephiroth was having a cute little "I-am-GOD-I-cannot-be-having-these-human-thoughts" dilemma. (Or at least, I think it's cute, you all may think it's stupid. Who knows? Just read…)

"NO." It was at least the eighteenth time he had screeched this word in the manliest tone a man can screech. Which means it wasn't a screech, it was more of an angered, frustrated yell, or whatever you wanna call it. Screech is easier to write.

Anyway…

The ex-General tapped his knuckles against his forehead many times sitting at Aeris's feminine little kitchen table (maybe all the girly-ness of the small flower-garbed house was driving him mad!), both elbows on the table since he wasn't eating and had no need for table manners.

He was knuckling his forehead because—or at least he had hoped so—that the movement would push the thoughts and feelings he was having out of his head. He didn't want this sympathy for Aeris. There was another tiny bubbling feeling of fondness growing for her in his chest. HE DIDN'T WANT THIS.

"I cannot," he breathed, "like my worst enemy. I can't. Not in any way, can I like her. It defies every single rule of every species! I'm ABOVE these stupid mortal affections! NO! Stop thinking affections! YOU DON'T FEEL FOR HER!"

Luckily, upstairs, Aeris, deep in re-doing her look, couldn't hear his rants at all.

"HONESTLY!" he screamed, banging his gloved fist down on the oaken table. "THIS CAN NOT BE HAPPENING! THIS CAN NOT BE REAL! FALLING IN LOVE WITH THAT…THAT…HUMAN WOULD DEFY EVERY SINGLE FRICKIN' THING! AND IT WOULD TAKE ALL OF THE FUN OUT OF TORMENTING HER!"

Sephiroth's only solace was that when he saw a pretty recent-looking photograph of her standing with her adoptive mother—it looked like it had been taken about a day before the Shinra had taken her—made him feel no emotions that he didn't want to feel.

That wasn't entirely so when she came down the stairs.

* * *

Finally, Aeris applied the finishing touches of makeup on her face and looked at herself in the wood-framed full-length mirror propped up next to her wardrobe. She wasn't vain, but she had to admit—change could be a good thing.

"I wonder if Sephiroth's going to think I look okay," she muttered to herself. Then she smacked her forehead with self-manicured nails. "Why would I care? I hate the man…" She fished her thoughts for a reason other than the reason she didn't want that could explain why she wanted him to think she looked good. She couldn't, so she made one up.

"Well, uh, we travel a lot, so I kinda don't want to look like a slob, and anyway, if I dress bad, then he'll just torment me about it…or something…hehe," she said, took one last glance at herself in the mirror, and descended down the stairs.

"…What the heck?" Sephiroth grumbled. She looked…different.

The jeans she was wearing her basically plain, but they were more form-fitting than the type of clothing the man had thought someone as innocent as Aeris would buy. Her shirt was plain, as well, and the exact greenish-bluish color of her eyes, but just a little bit clingier than he thought she'd ever wear. Her boots had changed from brown to black—that wasn't a bad change, at least that was somewhat normal. But she was wearing _makeup._ Her lips were a little bit glossy, her cheeks looked to be just a little bit rosy, and the eyeshadow she wore in a thin line right above her eyelashes were the exact same color as her eyes and shirt. Her jewelry was the same.

Plus, her hair was down. Sephiroth tried not to notice how soft and shiny-looking it was.

"Uh…" Aeris awkwardly avoided his gaze and desperately tried to ignore the feeling it gave her. "I'm guessing we're not staying here for too long? Where next?" she asked, breaking the very awkward, though short, silence between them.

Sephiroth smirked—something normal that made the Cetra remember that he was her enemy, exactly how they liked it and wanted it to remain. "Like I'd tell you," he said. "So what's with the outfit? Didn't think the innocent pink dress matched your lacy bra?"

Aeris seethed. THAT was just crossing the line—even if Cloud had said it, it was crossing the line.

So, she smacked him.

* * *

Yumesuta: Sorry if that chapter wasn't as funny or creative. Like Aeris's new look? She probably won't stay that way through the whole thing. Should I change Sephiroth too? Hmm. Ponder. Anyway, IF YOU DON'T REVIEW I MIGHT TAKE THE STORY DOWN! So review! Love yas! 


	7. Sephiroth's Mistake

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Note: Sorry about uploading Chapter 6 more than once…I just made an oopsies, that's all! It's still the same Chapter 6! Yaay!

Second Note: Happy Birthday, Kit!

* * *

Chapter 7: Sephiroth's Mistake

Sephiroth glared at Aeris after being smacked. Aeris, however, seemed to have forgotten about the smack—despite the fact that her hand tingled from lack of past smackings done and that there was a bright red hand-shaped mark on Sephiroth's face. She was examining him.

"You always wear the same thing, you know…"  
"IF YOU GET ANY IDEAS ABOUT CHANGING THE WAY I LOOK, WOMAN, I WILL STICK YOUR HEAD INTO A PIT OF RABID, STARVING CHIHUAHAS!" the mighty ex-General snarled.

"…Why that type of dog? Aren't, say, bulldogs or something like that more vicious?" Aeris asked.

"DO I LOOK LIKE A DAMN DOG TRAINER?"

With that, he went back to sulking at the feminine kitchen table—a sight that made Aeris giggle. And giggle. And giggle…until finally the blow she gave her unwanted companion earlier was returned to her. Hard.

"Oops…" Sephiroth looked down at the unconcious Cetra woman and nudged her side with the toe of his black boot. "The Planet won't be happy about this…"

He examined her unconcious body, pushed the thoughts he really shouldn't be having ("Because I am a GOD and GODS don't have these thoughts!") out of his head and slung her carelessly over his shoulder. He felt her heartbeat in her chest against the back of her shoulder, so he knew she was alive.

Once he reached her room, he carelessly flopped her down onto the bed and walked back down to the kitchen, resuming his seemingly beloved hobby of sulking at the table.

Everything went black.

"_Sephiroth!"_

"What do you want, Planet?" Sephiroth grumbled, cringing slightly at the only voice that sounded more Godly than his.

"_I would nag you like a mother and tell you, 'That wasn't a good thing to do!' But you already know that! So instead you can feel what she feels!"_

"…Menstruation?"

"_NO!"_ the Planet roared. _"Unconsciousness!"_

"Um…How can you FEEL unconscious?" Sephiroth asked, then pondered over his question. "Hmm…it doesn't seem to be a very vivid thing to feel—"

"_Okay, so maybe feel wasn't the best word! Maybe I should have said…experienced! Do you think so?"_ asked the Planet.

"How should I know?" Sephiroth grumbled.  
_"NO! WE AREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE CHATTING! I'm supposed to be punishing you! When you wake up from the trance-like realms of our conversations, you shall fall unconcious!"_

"Wouldn't that ruin the purpose of waking up at all…?"

"_SILENCE!"_

Sephiroth woke up, and then did the opposite.

* * *

Yumesuta: Okay. So maybe that wasn't so funny. And maybe it was very short.But I wanted to put in a quick chapter to apologize for adding Chapter 6 twice. By the way, Chapters 6 and 7 will count as one day together, so now there's gonna be at least 33 chapters to this fic…maybe more…maybe less, I dunno. Anyway. REVIEW! 


	8. A Harsh Kiss

Disclaimer: Really, I don't own it.

Note: OOC-ness probably ahead, but you knew that already.

Second Note: Just a reminder: _"This is the Planet speaking."_ "This is normal speaking." _This is someone thinking._ This is just normal text.

Third Note: There's fluff in this chapter. Not the "I love you" type of fluff, but the "I don't like you but I just love to annoy you so I'm gonna do this just to spite you" kind of fluff. Of course, that doesn't mean it won't turn into the first type of mentioned fluff…

* * *

Chapter 8: A Harsh Kiss

Sephiroth woke up about an hour after the Planet knocked him out. Standing up with ease, he smirked. That little experience didn't hurt him at all.

The fact that he regretted hitting his worst enemy, though, aggravated him a lot.

"Might as well apologize," he muttered and stomped up to Aeris's room.

She was still asleep. The ex-General was somewhat surprised at that. He thought that she'd wake up when he did, or even before he did. _I suppose that's just another sign that I'm stronger than she is,_ he thought, a smirk growing on his face. But the smirk disappeared when his regret came back. He smacked himself mentally.

"Get a hold of yourself," he grumbled, examining his unwanted partner's sleeping body. She looked so innocent, and the nice, red gash—though it was a small one—just added to the regret he felt. Hands trembling, he pulled off one glove and ran a rough finger across the injury.

"It's not so deep," he said, satisfied knowing that the Planet wouldn't kill him since he didn't hurt her very bad. "She probably won't have amnesia either…"

Her greenish eyes fluttered open and she sat up, staring at him.

_Oh crud, she doesn't look like she remembers anything…what if she really DOES have amnesia?_ he thought, clenching his teeth. Then that familiar glare emerged on Aeris's face.

"What are you doing in my room, Sephiroth?" she asked, attempting to be calm.

"Just checking on you," he replied lazily, sliding the thick ebon leather glove back on the hand he removed it from.

Aeris's glare intensified. "Let me ask you a second question…What the heck were you doing in my bedroom when I was unconcious?" she snarled.

"You're disgusting. I'd rather see a dead body than a naked one," he hissed.

"Why did you punch me anyway? Just because it's not a deep, serious wound, Mr. High-And-Mighty, doesn't mean it doesn't sting!" she snapped.

"You've only been awake for a minute and we're already arguing," muttered the great ex-General. "Well, get up, we're leaving."

"Where are we going?"

"I don't know! Somewhere!"

With that, he stomped off. Aeris smiled serenely, content with the fact that she annoyed him as she ripped a comb through her hair then trotted down the stairs. When she reached the kitchen, Sephiroth grabbed her wrist in a vise-like grip.

"We're flying again," he growled, "and I'm not going to waste any time with your protests. You don't need to grab anything. Let's go."

Aeris winced. She had a headache from Sephiroth punching her, and now she was losing the feeling in her wrist.

They exited Midgar and reached the shore. Sephiroth glared at Aeris, then released her arm and turned her to face him. "Like last time, don't let go. I'm not catching you if you fall this time—hitting the water won't hurt you. I'll make sure you don't drown, but that's it."

Aeris begrudgingly slid her arms around her enemy's neck and gagged. "I'm going to have to disinfect my arms when we reach a town," she said.

Sephiroth smirked as the Cetra woman realized how tight his arms were around her waist. "What the heck are you doing?" she demanded.

"Well, duh, I appear to be holding you," said the ex-General.

"WHY?"

"Because it makes you feel uncomfortable and annoyed," he smirked. "You know I just love to annoy you."

"Can we just leave now? I hate being this close to you," Aeris muttered.

"Do you, now," Sephiroth growled, the usual smirk plastered on his face. "Then you'll loathe this." He swiftly leaned in, planting a harsh, unwanted kiss on Aeris's lips. Neither of their eyes closed. Sephiroth's narrowed eyes bore into Aeris's wide, confused ones as he moved his lips roughly over hers and, just to spite her, poked her mouth with his tongue once. Then he pulled away and, with a tight grasp on her, took off into the air.

The brunette Cetra girl wasn't going to just ignore what had happened, though. "What…the heck…was that?" she breathed.

The silver-haired man sighed. "I believe the technical term for an action such as that is a kiss."

"Why, though? I hate you and you hate me."

The smirk reappeared on the ex-General's face. "I did it just for that reason. Oh, come on, you know I love it when you're annoyed because it means you're not happy!"

Aeris mentally shook herself. If they really hated each other, then why…?

"STUPID! THIS IS SO STUPID!" she shrieked.

* * *

Yumesuta: So that chapter wasn't so funny...sorry about that...my writer's block is back! SOMEONE SHOOT IT! Anyways, please review! 


	9. The Gold Saucer

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and stuff like that just don't belong to me.

Note: Yeah. Um. OOC-ness ahead. Also, this chapter, hopefully, will be funnier than the last couple of chapters.

Second Note: All of my reviewers rock! If I could give you all something, I would, but all I have to offer are my pathetic fanfictions.

* * *

Chapter 9: The Gold Saucer

"LAND!" Aeris screeched, falling out of Sephiroth's arms and onto the ground, kissing it (though her lips barely even brushed the tips of the grass) after at least one day of being stuck in the air with her unwanted companion.

"…I know you have an intimate relationship with dirt, judging by the almost constantly filthy state of your hair, but would you be so kind as to stop making out with the ground and get up?" the ex-General sneered.

Aeris stood up, glaring at him. Her eyeshadow didn't really soften her glare that much. "For your information, MISTER, my mouth didn't even touch the dirt…well, no, I'm wrong about that. They DID touch the dirt—_your_ mouth," she shot back.

Sephiroth smirked. "You're getting better at these insults," he commented.

Aeris tossed her hair back. "I learn from only the worst," she said, 'the worst' meaning, of course, him.

The silver-haired man's facial expression hardened. "Keep in mind, woman, I can do much worse than just kiss you."

"What sort of threat is THAT? Disgusting as you are, basically anything can be worse than a kiss. Now where are we going?" Aeris said, her gentleness beginning to come back from places unknown for reasons unknown. But in all honesty, she'd rather die than have to kiss Sephiroth one more time…

"Let's see…what's nearby?" Sephiroth muttered, scanning the horizon. There was a desert, and…oh, no…his least favorite place…

"The Golden Saucer!" Aeris shrieked. "That was soo much fun both times I went! Except, you know, they had sucky endings…the first time we were arrested for doing something we didn't actually do, and the second time Cait Sith stole the Keystone and gave it to the Turks. But before the sucky endings, IT WAS SO FUN! Are we going there?"

"Oh LORD no, woman. You are NOT dragging me into that overly happy apocalypse of doom! DO YOU NOT HEAR THE MUSIC IT REGURGITATES FROM NOWHERE? AND THE MOOGLES! THE GIANT STUFFED MOOGLES! THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!" Sephiroth screamed.

"…First of all, if it's a happy place, how can it be an apocalypse? And aren't all apocalypses basically about some sort of doom? Also, music isn't regurgitated and the people in stuffed moogle suits aren't everywhere," Aeris reasoned.

"Oh yes! That's what YOU think, Miss Child of Joy!"

"I may be the Child of Joy, Sephiroth, but you're the Spawn of Insanity!"

"And I'm damn proud of it, too," the black-clad villain grumbled.

"So are we going or not?" asked Aeris.

"Fine…but you're paying for my ticket…"

"Oh, don't worry. I have a lifetime pass."

"YOU WEIRDO!"

* * *

Sephiroth hated the "overly happy apocalypse of doom," as he made so clear before. People stared at him for two reasons: 1) Because he had long, silver hair and looked exactly like Sephiroth (Gee, go figure!) and 2) because of his unnaturally long weapon. 

People didn't stare at Aeris so much, except for the perverted old men who really shouldn't go to public places.

_She seems to be having fun,_ Sephiroth thought gloomily. _But if she drags me onto a ride ONE MORE TIME, I'm going to have to smack her,_ he added, cringing. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy the roller coasters; it was that he didn't want HER to know he did.

Suddenly, Aeris turned around, clasped her hands behind her back, and leaned forward slightly in that way she did so often. "Wanna go stop somewhere and get some food?" she asked.

The black-clad ex-General clenched his jaw. "Oh, yes, sure, let's go get some food and be stared at more."

"Do you have a problem with people?" Aeris asked, straightening and letting her hands fall to her sides.

"YES! Why do you think I tried to destroy the Planet?"

"You obviously have a problem."

"Yes. My problem is you. Go away."

"I can't. If I go too far away from you, I die, and you die too," she reminded him.

Sephiroth grumbled something, then checked a nearby clock. It was nearly midnight. "It's getting late," he observed.

"Um…for the rooms WE could afford in the hotel, there'd only be one bed," she said weakly.

"Yes, but I refuse to travel this late at night," the ex-General said.

"Why?" Aeris asked, then attempted to smirk but failed. "OH, are you afraid of the dark?"

"No," Sephiroth muttered plainly. "But it's easier to lose you in the dark, and though I really want you to go away, the Planet would destroy us both if we were separated."

"…But there's only one bed!" Aeris said, exasperated.

"It's your fault, really, for suggesting we come here and then not leave in time to search for a place with multiple beds. Consider this your punishment."

"Having to look at your face should be punishment enough," Aeris mumbled, and begrudgingly followed Sephiroth to the hotel.

Once they had a room, the brunette woman went to the room's bathroom to take a shower. The silver-haired man leaned against the wall, staring out the window as the fake lightning proceeded to be annoying. He heard the shower stop, and smirked. This was just too good of an opportunity to annoy his unwanted companion, and he couldn't just pass it up…

He gave the girl enough time to at least dry herself off and into her underwear, then barged in. As he expected, there she stood, glaring at him, her cheeks the same scarlet color as her underwear and bra. Sephiroth smirked.

"Oops," he said unconvincingly, and went back to the bedroom. Whether he wanted it to be there or not, the image of Aeris without her outer layer of clothing, hair still wet and plastered to her face, eyes burning with her cheeks, was stuck in his mind. He made no serious attempt to get it out.

A few minutes later, his victim barged out of the bathroom (fully clothed, and with dry but still unbraided hair and no makeup), stomped up to Sephiroth and delivered several hard blows to his face.

"Oops, my ass," she grumbled.

Sephiroth raised his eyebrows, rubbing his cheek lightly as he watched her stomp over to the other side of the room. "So, it IS true."

Aeris didn't answer.

Sephiroth smirked. "So you DO wear red undies…and you CAN cuss," he sneered.

Aeris felt her anger boiling over and she glared at him, a menacing glare of ultimate EVIL! …Well, maybe not ULTIMATE evil, but it was still a menacing glare. "Damn right, you bastard, I can cuss! Too bad none of those words can describe how filthy, perverted, and murderous you are," she snarled.

"Perverted? All I did was comment on your underwear—not your breast size, not your body, your _underwear._ And I only did it to annoy you," he snapped back.

"Yeah, right," Aeris breathed. "Do we have to share a bed again?"

"I don't plan on sleeping on the floor, and the bathroom floor is probably covered with the blood from your menstruation."

"WILL YOU STOP SAYING THAT! It is NOT 'that time of the month' for me!" she shrieked. "And…whatever. I'm going to bed, you do what you want…only don't really," she muttered, sliding under the covers.

Sephiroth, tired, slid into the bed as well, but moved as far away from Aeris as possible. "May your dreams be full of misery and fear," he said, closing his eyes.

"May yours be, too," Aeris muttered sleepily.

* * *

Yumesuta: Er… That was interesting, no? Heh…I hope I didn't offend anyone! If I did, I'm very sorry. And I got the idea from one of my reviewers. THANK YOU, REVIEWER! I thought I'd be stuck forever. Speaking of reviewer…REVIEW! 


	10. The Frog Spell

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Note: Very sorry for the long wait. I got distracted with school. Stupid school…oh well, thanks for all of my wonderful reviews!

* * *

Chapter 10: The Frog Spell

When Aeris woke up the next day, she realized that something was very, very wrong. How did she know this? There was something warm and solid right behind where she was lying on her side in the bed. There was an arm around her. She was very close to someone and she really, really hoped that it wasn't who she knew it was. Reluctant and terrified, she slowly turned around to face the other way and then wished she didn't.

Yup, it was Sephiroth.

She'd scream, but she didn't know how angry he'd be if she woke him up.

Then, he woke up and, of course, his eyes opened.

"…Well," he muttered awkwardly. "Why the heck is my arm around you and why the heck are you facing me?"

"I have no clue why your arm's around me but I turned to face you to make sure it _wasn't_ you," she snapped. Then her eyes widened. "Oh, Holy…" Then, her eyes narrowed! "If you touched me, you creep, I'll have no problem with dying after bashing your head in!"

Sephiroth chuckled. "So, I see you're still vicious from yesterday," he observed.

Aeris's insides flared in anger when he chuckled. Why was he being so calm? HOW could anyone be so calm about this? "Yes, and I think I have a damn good reason to be angry! NOW GET OFF OF ME!"

The silver-haired man pondered for a moment, then smirked. "No. I'm actually still rather tired," he said, tightening his grip around her.

The Cetra woman's eyes widened. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GET OFF OF ME!" she screamed.

Sephiroth burst out laughing and Aeris sucked in a sharp breath. She could feel his hot breath on the back of her neck and she felt his body shake with laughter against her. It was all very annoying, especially the part of her brain that, at first, _didn't_ find it annoying.

The silver-haired man slid out of the bed, and as he did so, he released his grip on his unwanted companion. The brunette woman sighed in relief.

"I'm going to take a shower," the ex-General announced curtly, heading in the general direction of the bathroom.

Aeris seethed as she watched the man enter the bathroom. It wasn't that he had laughed at the situation that bothered her, nor was it the fact that his attitude so suddenly changed—it was that his long, silver hair was still perfect after waking up in the morning.

"Humph. He's such a Gary-Stu," she muttered bitterly, crawling out of the bed to tear a comb through her own tangled bed-head mess. Her clothes were slightly wrinkled, but not to the point where she wouldn't be able to go out in public so she waited patiently for the man to get done showering.

Finally, after less than half an hour, Sephiroth came back out of the bathroom.

"I'm going out," Aeris announced.

The silver-haired man gritted his teeth. This meant that he had to come along as well. "Out where?" he demanded.

"Just around the Gold Saucer," she said cheerfully.

"…Fine. But we're leaving tomorrow," he said through clenched teeth. The happy, crowded place wasn't his favorite place in the world…at all.

As they passed by the Event Square, the person in charge of it called for them.

"HEY you two! You're the fiftieth couple to pass here so you can be the lead part in tonight's play!" he said cheerfully.

Sephiroth's eye twitched. "We are NOT a couple. And no, thank you, I am NOT going to be stuffed onto some grubby little stage and forced to say lines! DO I LOOK LIKE A DAMN ACTOR?"

The man blinked. "Well, if you don't take part in tonight's play, I'll have to turn you into a frog…"

"Yeah, right," Sephiroth grumbled and followed Aeris as she began to walk off.

"I wasn't joking," said the man.

"OOF!" the ex-General cried, falling over. When he opened his eyes, he saw Aeris's boot.

"Erm…" Aeris looked at the Event Square man, both eyebrows raised in horror.

"I said I wasn't joking," he said cheerfully. "Have a nice night!"

"…Ribbit," Sephiroth grumbled, then opened his eyes as wide as possible in shock. _Did I just say "ribbit"? _he thought.

Aeris blinked once, then picked up the frog that was sitting where Sephiroth had been standing. It was silver in color with a tiny black trench coat, boots on its hind legs (though she had no clue frogs could wear boots), and a tiny little Masamune in a tiny little sheath. The frog also had blue-green eyes.

"…Sephiroth?" she gasped.

"What?" he croaked.

The Cetra woman blinked, then, ignoring the blank stares of passer-byes, burst out laughing. "YOU'RE A FROG!" she bellowed, unable to stop laughing.

"So turn me back!" Sephiroth croaked.

They wandered back to the hotel room, Aeris snickering the whole way. When they were there, she pulled out some Materia.

"Heal!" she cried. Green light engulfed the formerly semi-human man. When it disappeared…

…He was still a frog.

"Crud," she muttered, then dug through her belongings to find a Maiden's Kiss. "Here," she mumbled, tossing it to him. It dissolved into his skin…

…And still didn't work.

"Oh, damn it," she hissed. "We're going to the First Aid station," she announced, picking him back up. Then she sighed. "But you're such a cute little frog! I mean, that tiny Masamune is just ADOREABLE!"

"Shut up and get to the healing!" Sephiroth said in a loud croak. "Do you THINK I wish to stay a frog? This is just humiliating! AND THE MASAMUNE IS NOT CUTE, YOU IMBICILE!"

"It is now," Aeris said with an evil grin.

At the First Aid station…

"Hmm," the nurse said, examining the froggy Sephiroth. "You tried Materia and a Maiden's Kiss, right?"

Aeris nodded. "Neither worked."

"Obviously," the vicious amphibian hissed.

"That stupid Event Square man…they wanted to fire him, but the boss of the place was afraid of turning into a frog. Seems the only way to turn him back is for a virgin to kiss him," the nurse explained.

"I see," Aeris muttered.

Sephiroth looked at her expectantly.

"WHY ME?" she moaned.

"Well," said the nurse, "it seems you're currently closest to him…you ARE a virgin, right?"

Aeris nodded sourly. "I knew I shouldn't have rejected that man's offer," she mumbled. "Okay, thanks anyway, nurse."

Back at the hotel room…

"YOU ARE NOT LETTING ME STAY A FROG FOREVER!" Sephiroth croak-roared.

"I'm NOT kissing you," the brunette woman said flatly.

"_If you don't, you will become a frog as well,"_ said the Planet.

Aeris's eyes narrowed. "I hate you both," she grumbled, setting Sephiroth on the bed. Kneeling next to it, she reluctantly and swiftly placed her lips on his.

There was a VERY bright flash of light, and the ex-General went back to normal…or, however normal he was in the first place, anyway.

"Thanks," he said, not really sounding thankful.

"Whatever."

* * *

Yumesuta: Ok…so…review please! 


	11. Snoofles and Snufflekins

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII.

Note: Thanks once again to all of my reviewers for reviewing! And, of course, my apologies for the long wait for this chapter. I've been busy working on one of my other fics, Vincent's Revenge.

* * *

Chapter 11: Snoofles and Snufflekins

The next day, as our Miss Aeris got ready for her day, Mister Sephiroth was in the bathroom, taking a shower, as well as doing the other things one does in the bathroom. I'm sure I don't have to describe those things to you.

Aeris had already done her bathroom stuff, so all she needed to do now was brush her hair and attempt to get the wrinkles out of her clothes. She'd successfully made her clothing SLIGHTLY less wrinkled, and though she'd brushed her hair enough so that its silky softness rivaled even Sephiroth's hair, she ran it through the auburn mass again, and again, and again. Why?

She was BORED.

Now, if she were here with Cloud and her other old friends, she'd have just written them a note that read something along the lines of, "I got bored so I went out to go look around. I won't go far so come get me when you're done getting ready." Sephiroth, however, had CLEARLY told her that she was forbidden to go anywhere without him, in case someone attempted to kill her.

I believe his exact words were, "If you go ANYWHERE, I shall use all of my non-fatal powers to torment you until you're driven as insane as a rabid Chihuahua!"

Aeris's retaliation was, "You already threatened to stick me in a pit of rabid Chihuahuas before. Do you have an obsession with that type of dog or something?"

Sephiroth's response, before glaring and storming into the bathroom, had been something along the lines of, "Yes, when I was seven I had a Chihuahua. His name was Pointy. He died of rabies. But before his death, he was just so CUTE! I mean—uh…no, you fool, I did not just say cute!"

Now, back to the moment of Miss Aeris brushing her hair.

Remembering the conversation, she pictured a small Sephiroth wearing jeans, sneakers, and a baggy T-shirt while running down the street, wielding a bright red leash. At the end of the aforementioned leash, there was a tiny, hyper dog with large, pointy ears. Though the image was very strange to her, it wasn't amusing until the little Sephiroth stopped to baby talk to his dog and call him things like Snoofles and Snufflekins. At that point, she imagined the adult Sephiroth (the one she was currently with) calling a small, furry animal Snoofles and Snufflekins…and then, she burst out laughing.

As though on cue, the silver-haired man chose precisely that moment to exit the bathroom. He was without his trench coat, as he had left it in the main part of the hotel room, and his hair was still sopping wet at the ends. Noticing his unwanted companion's laughter, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"May I ask what is so funny?" he breathed.

Aeris giggled. "Have you ever called anyone Snoofles or Snufflekins?" she asked.

The man's eyebrows raised as he stared at her as though she were an idiot. "Snoofles? _Snufflekins?_ What type of names are THOSE?"

The fact that Sephiroth had said the baby names in a demanding, angry voice made Aeris's laughter hysterical. (I mean, seriously, imagine someone being very, very angry and saying "Snoofles." Now, imagine it being Sephiroth…)

His eyes narrowed even more. "We're leaving," he announced curtly, tossing his trench coat lazily over one shoulder.

"Aww," Aeris whined, but her whining didn't do anything. Though she protested, Sephiroth picked her up and tossed her lazily over the same shoulder his trench coat was on.

"PUT ME DOWN!" she screeched into his ear as her head passed it.

He winced. "NO," he snapped, moving her so that most of her top half was hanging on his back.

"Ew, Sephiroth your trench coat smells funny," she said, looking down. As she looked down, she caught sight of his rear end, covered (as far as she knew—she didn't know if he wore underwear) only by his nice, tight black pants. _Oh, holy PLANET that's kinda hawt,_ she thought, almost drooling before she remembered that it was Sephiroth.

"Why, thank you," he snorted. "Stop talking. Then you won't have to breathe as often and the smell of my trench coat won't bother you as much…wait a minute. What DOES it smell like, anyway?"

"You," Aeris said simply. "…And leather."

Sephiroth smacked his forehead with his free hand. "Wow, who would have thought!" he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Throwing some of his hair back so that the wet ends purposely hit his unwanted partner's face, he walked towards the door, opened it, and left the Gold Saucer, despite the odd looks he received from some of the women. He was, after all, shirtless—but who would complain to him with the Masamune hanging at his side?

Once he was outside of the Gold Saucer, he lazily threw Aeris onto the ground and replaced his ultra-cool long black coat. She landed on the grass with a small thud.

"Hey," she moaned, standing up to brush the dirt off of the seat of her pants.

"Stop whining. Here," the man said curtly, shoving a roll into her hands.

"Uh…what's this?" Aeris asked, raising one eyebrow.

Sephiroth raised his eyebrows and gawked at the piece of bread in mock awe. "Well, I believe the technical term for something you can eat is _food! _And—" He sarcastically glanced up at the sun. "And WOW! It's morning! I hate to get all technical with you, but I believe that the word people commonly use for food in the morning is _breakfast!_ Well, look at that!" he finished, smirking.

Aeris's greenish eyes narrowed. "I KNOW THAT!" she snarled. "Where'd it come from?"

"Oh, so you youngsters say, 'What's this?' when they really want to know where something came from?" Sephiroth asked, a wolfish smile on his lips.

The Cetra smacked her forehead. "No. I just asked the wrong question, okay? Geez!"

"For your information, it came from the continental breakfast table at the hotel. I stuffed it into a pocket in my trench coat—don't worry, woman, it was an empty pocket, unless you count air—and was going to give it to you at the hotel, but I forgot about it," he explained, glad to be annoying her.

"Oh." Aeris was about to eat it, but paused when the roll was at her mouth and glared. "How do I know this is safe to eat?" she demanded.

"Well, I can't kill you or I'd die. I can't poison you, or I'd become poisoned. It's squished but otherwise safe," Sephiroth said, very annoyed at her relentless caution.

"It could have something in it that would cause me to fall asleep."

"Why would I want to do THAT?" Sephiroth sighed, smacking his forehead in frustration.

"Well, you can't hurt me, but I'd be annoyed if I fell unconcious so you might try to—oh…damn it I think I said too much…" Aeris said, gulping.

The silver-haired man smirked. "Perhaps you have. I haven't thought of making you go to sleep…I'll have to try it sometime."  
"NO YOU WON'T!" the brown-haired woman screamed, practically snarling.

"Just shut up and eat the damned roll!"

"Fine, sheesh." She carefully nibbled on the edge of the hunk of bread, keeping a careful eye on Sephiroth as she did so. After swallowing her nibble, she paused to see if anything out of the ordinary was happening to her. Nothing was, so she stuffed the rest of her food into her mouth.

"So you didn't do anything this time," she breathed, still keeping a careful eye on the man. "So where are we going to next?"

"Well, to annoy you I thought we could just wander aimlessly for the rest of the day and camp out for the night," said Sephiroth, his trademark evil smirk creeping across his lips.

Aeris groaned. "I knew there had to be a catch for you feeding me…"

And wander aimlessly, the pair did. In fact, Sephiroth only allowed the exhausted Cetra to rest when the sun was well below the horizon.

"Tired," she gasped, collapsing onto the ground.

"I'm not," the man boasted.

"Shut up, you freak of science!"

"…_What did you just call me?"_

Aeris gulped at the dangerous tone of voice he was using, but he couldn't kill her so she swallowed her fear. "FREAK OF SCIENCE!" she screamed.

Sephiroth lunged. Aeris screamed. Sephiroth halted his lunge, knowing the planet would just give him some sort of agonizing pain for attacking the woman.

"Damn," he muttered, sitting next to Aeris.

"Ha, ha," Aeris taunted. "You can't get me!"

"Nope," he admitted evenly. "I can't. You win."

"…Huh?"

"I said," the man repeated, glancing at her, "'I give up. You win.' Alright?"

"What's the catch…?" the brown-haired Cetra asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"As soon as I find another way to torment you without physically harming you, you can bet to the Planet that I will!"

Both of them waited for an idea to come to Sephiroth. Sephiroth was waiting because, well, he was the one trying to think of an idea. Aeris was waiting because her legs didn't want to move from the agonizingly long walk they took.

"Here's something that'll annoy you," Sephiroth said, moving so close to Aeris that she could see every detail of his stunning blue-green eyes. "We don't have a tent. You'll have to sleep on the ground."

"Okay…" Aeris was too tired to edge away. "That IS annoying, but it won't emotionally harm me for the rest of my life…by the way why the hell are you so close? Go away!"

"There's a second half to your punishment for calling me a freak of science."

"I don't wanna know," the woman whined.

The silver-haired man chuckled and closed his mouth over hers for a moment. Satisfied with her aggravated struggles, he pulled away.

"EW!" she shrieked, fiercely rubbing at her mouth with her arm. She knew her face was bright red. Damn those hormone reactions.

Then she gasped. "Sephiroth, you're…blushing!"

"What? No I'm not," he snapped. But when he removed his gloves and felt one of his cheeks, he clenched his teeth together. She was right. "Damn it," he muttered.

* * *

Yumesuta: So, uh, what do you think of them apples? Heh, please review! 


	12. Soaked

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Final Fantasy. This includes its characters. Please don't sue.

Note: Thanks for all of my great reviews and sorry for the long wait for an update. I've been really busy lately with stuff.

* * *

Chapter 12: Soaked

When Sephiroth woke up the following morning, he realized that there were two things unusual about this particular daily awakening.

First of all, he was outside, in the cold, sleeping on the ground like some sort of common mortal. Not that sleeping outside bothered him—he'd had to do it many times when he was a General. He'd just wished, every time he did it, that he never had to sleep outside without even a mere shred of a blanket ever again.

The second thing that was wrong was very, very wrong indeed, at least, in his mind…

Aeris was lying right in front of him, and not only that, she was lying _against_ him. He had one arm, his right arm, wrapped around her stomach and his left one…oh, Holy…His left arm was wrapped around her breast.

Stop gawking, both were fully clothed. Sheesh.

_Hmm, she won't be too happy when she wakes up,_ Sephiroth thought. He for one was frankly too tired to be bothered with what was using him as a semi-blanket…yes, he was quite tired.

Then, something horrible happened.

The heavily cloudy, gray sky began to gush large, rather cold drops of rain.

"Ugh?" Aeris muttered, opening her eyes slightly as a particularly large, cold drop of rain fell onto her head. She looked down (or, what would be down to her, at least) and saw Sephiroth's arms. Then she screamed.

"ALL RIGHT, WOMAN, SHEESH," the One-Winged Angel grumble-shouted, releasing his unwanted companion almost immediately. "I can't help what my arms wrap around when I'm asleep!"

"Oh sure," Aeris spat sarcastically, standing up. As Sephiroth stood up as well, she began to shiver.

"I don't really care but I'll ask anyway. What's wrong?" the ex-General asked uncaringly.

"I'm cold, I'm dirty, and all I had to eat yesterday was a roll so I'm starving," the Cetra woman said through clenched teeth, rubbing her arms together.

"…I'm not cold in the slightest. It is not cold out here," said Sephiroth.

"Well you're wearing long sleeves! And your body's probably immune to the cold! As for me, I'm FREEZING! Can we please go somewhere to get out of this stupid rain?" she pleaded, her voice almost in a whisper.

"Fine," the man sighed and began to undo his overcoat slightly.

"What are you doing…"

Sephiroth grabbed Aeris, not gentle at all, and pulled her to him so that her back was pressed against his now bare abdomen. He picked her up slightly so that her feet weren't touching the ground, then tightly held his coat around them both.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Aeris demanded.

"Keeping you warm. Damn. In case you've forgotten, your death means my death and I don't particularly want to freeze to death," Sephiroth snapped.

"So then where are we going?"

"Well, we're close enough to Nibelheim so I guess we'll go there," the man said flatly, purposely walking with a rough stride to make Aeris's free limbs jerk unsteadily.

"Ow…" she complained after receiving a headache.

"I can't afford to kill you but I still don't like you."

"You're really, really mean."

Despite Sephiroth's uncaring attempts to keep Aeris warm, her head and ankles still got soaked.

After several long, tedious hours of agonizingly slow walking, Aeris started to get annoyed.

"Shouldn't we b-be there by now?" she demanded quietly.

"We've been going in circles," the man said with a smirk.

Aeris's eyes practically popped out of her head. "On purpose?"

"Of course."

"I HATE YOU!"

"No need to scream, we're almost there…"

A few minutes later, they were, indeed, in Nibelheim. Once outside the inn, Sephiroth uncaringly let go of his coat, letting Aeris fall out. That done, he re-did his coat so that it was on the right way…and not untied…and stuff…

"So do we have to share a bed again?" Aeris asked through chattering teeth, her soaking wet hair plastered to her face.

"Unfortunately from what I can afford, yes."

"WHY! WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME LIKE THIS!" the Cetra woman screamed dramatically at the sky, dropping to her knees.

"Oh shut up," Sephiroth grumbled, yanking his companion up by a fistful of hair.

After purchasing the room, the man practically had to drag the brown-haired girl to the room.

"Warm yourself up," he grumbled, hastily tossing a bath towel from the bathroom to her. Almost thankful, she wrapped the towel around herself, drying off her soaked skin.

"I wish I had some spare clothes," she sighed.

"You could always take off your outer layer of clothing, hang that up to dry, and tend to yourself with whatever towels and blankets we have here," Sephiroth suggested.

Aeris glared. "…Why do you want me to take off my clothes?" she challenged.

"To make sure your warm. Duh. And in the morning you can go buy a new outfit if you so desire."

"I thought we were broke…"

"Well, from the cheap clothes you wear—"

This caused the ex-General to get smacked in the face.

"The bathroom doesn't even have a real door to it…" the brown-haired woman observed disdainfully. "If you could just turn around for a second…"

"Oh so NOW you take my advice?"

"I just don't want to freeze!"

Sephiroth turned around, prompting Aeris to hastily remove her outer layer of clothing, shoes, and socks.

Before she was all the way done, Sephiroth counted to one in his head (she DID only say turn around for a second…) and turned back around, watching her…just to annoy her, of course…

Once out of her outfit, Aeris turned around, facing Sephiroth, to grab where she left her towel. If a world record for how fast a woman's cheeks turned bright red existed, she would have won it.

"What are you doing…" she said, her voice deadly calm as she stood up straight, the towel forgotten.

"You said to only turn around for a second, and I obeyed," the silver-haired God said with a smirk, crossing his arms.

"YOU—!"

And then, she lunged.

* * *

Yumesuta: Well, sorry for the long wait. Review please! 


	13. Another Day

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII.

Note: Since we're no longer allowed to put review responses in our fanfictions, if I need to reply to anyone's review I'll use the new message system.

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Chapter 13: Another Day

Aeris sat, wrapped in a towel, next to the bed, asleep. She had been asleep since the previous night after attacking Sephiroth. And oh yes, the man had something clever to say about that when she woke up.

_Why is she sleeping for so long? She's been asleep for seventeen hours, _he thought bitterly. _Okay, yeah, so maybe she's gone a couple of nights with not very much sleep, or with uncomfortable sleeping conditions but Holy, this is ridiculous! She isn't even actually ON the bed so what the heck?_

Minutes later, Aeris opened her eyes, finally awake. She yawned and stood up, still clutching the towel as she immediately remembered that her clothes were hanging to dry and she was in her underwear. Now, ordinarily that wouldn't bother her if she happened to be alone but she was with Sephiroth…self-explanatory, I believe.

"Where are my clothes?" she asked, her voice bitter from just waking up.

"…Why should I tell you?" the silver-haired man challenged, turning to face her, arms crossed at his chest.

"Because I said so!" she snapped.

"Fine. They're in the bathroom. By the way, last night, when you lunged at me…" He chuckled. "Honestly Aeris I didn't know you felt that way about me!"

"YOU'D BETTER BE JOKING," the woman screamed as she slammed the bathroom door to change.

Sephiroth approached the door…Just because they were in different rooms didn't mean they weren't allowed to speak to each other.

"Why would I be joking? Usually when someone lunges at someone else when they're wearing nothing but their underwear it means something," Sephiroth said…Just because his voice sounded dead serious didn't mean he wasn't teasing her.

"Sephiroth," Aeris growled warningly. Her muffled voice indicated that she was about halfway into her shirt.

"Aeris," the man replied in the same manner.

"GOOD! Now that you know my name would you kindly leave me the hell alone?" the Cetra woman barked, pulling on her jeans, pushing on the door to go to the bedroom to put on her shoes and socks.

"…Nah," Sephiroth said with a smirk, pushing on the door so that Aeris was stuck in the bathroom.

"Hey…LET ME OUT!" she hissed.

"…Nah."

"SEPHIROTH!"

"AERIS!"

"You idiot," Aeris snapped.

"Good girl. You've MASTERED insults, haven't you?" said the ever-sarcastic Sephiroth.

"Grr…" After realizing that her demands were useless, she tried pounding and pushing on the door.

Feeling her new struggles, Sephiroth chuckled and stood to one side, one hand still on the doorknob, keeping the door closed without any trouble. After a few seconds, he very quickly yanked his hand away, laughing as Aeris tumbled onto the ground, obviously, to put it simply, pissed off.

"Jerk…" she groaned, standing up, face hot from anger and embarrassment.

"I may be a jerk but you know you like it…Anyway, good morning we're leaving soon, so get whatever other stuff you brought together in ten minutes," Sephiroth said.

"…Did you just say, 'you know you like it'?" Aeris asked, stunned.

"Huh? No, I—uh…I meant to say…Oh…forget it…just shut up and get ready," Sephiroth hissed.

Aeris gave him a mock salute. "Fine, but when are we eating? I didn't have anything to eat yesterday and the day before that all I ate was a roll so I'm pretty hungry," she sighed.

"We'll eat later."

"How much later?"

"I'll tell you what…The next time we see a restaurant we'll eat, okay?" the silver-haired man offered.

"Fine with me," Aeris said with a shrug. "So long as we get to eat…Where are we going anyway?"

Sephiroth shrugged. "…I'm not sure. Maybe we'll go to Costa del Sol or somewhere around there? We can stop in Gongaga to grab some food, maybe, if that's fine with you."

"Actually, can we stop at Cosmo Canyon to eat? I kinda want to visit Red…and why Costa del Sol? I thought you HATED happy places…" Aeris said, suspicious.

"I do. Yet at the same time I just want to see if anything's changed. We can eat there, too. The bar there's not bad…well…at least when I went there last time it wasn't bad, and that was ten years ago," Sephiroth said with a shrug.

"How come you're suddenly being so nice…?"

"How come YOU'RE suddenly being so nice?"

"I'm usually nice by nature. I was just being nice because YOU were being nice."

"Don't worry. I'll stop being nice after a while…"

"You know," Aeris grumbled, "that actually sort of DOES give me something to worry about…"

"Just hurry up and get ready."

"But I AM ready."

"Then let's go. It will probably take the day to get to Cosmo Canyon…We'll stay the night there most likely, then go to Costa del Sol," Sephiroth explained.

"Sounds good to me…though I still don't know why you, of all people, want to go to Costa del Sol…" Aeris muttered.

"I just feel like it." _Besides, I SORT OF want to see you in a bathing suit…just sort of…just to see what your preference between one piece and two piece would be, that's all…really._

* * *

Yumesuta: Well that ends the chapter! Hopefully the next one will be longer. I hope I get some reviews on this. 


	14. Traveling

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

Note: I'm really sorry about the long wait. I've been really busy with life and stuff so I haven't had time to update. Also this chapter's going to be kinda short because I didn't have a lot of time to write it…Sorry…Don't kill me…

* * *

Chapter 14: Traveling

It was still raining out when the reluctantly paired duo left the inn to go outside.

"I'm cold," Aeris complained. "And where are we going again?"

"Cosmo Canyon, then Costa del Sol. And it's your own fault for being cold! You should have dressed in layers or something," Sephiroth grumbled as they began walking for Cosmo Canyon.

"But…I'm really cold…" the woman whimpered, her teeth chattering. She wasn't suggesting anything, oh no; she just wanted to annoy Sephiroth as much as he annoyed her.

The silver-haired man sighed and approached Aeris, undoing his coat as he did so. Aeris barely had time to protest when the man scooped her into his arms and held her high enough so that she could rest her chin on his shoulder, fastened the cloak over her and put one arm under her…uh…rear…so that she wouldn't fall. It almost looked like Sephiroth was carrying an oversized toddler…not that Aeris looked like a toddler of course.

"Wha…WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Aeris shrieked.

"Don't you mean, 'What did you just do?'" Sephiroth corrected her, continuing towards the canyon in the distance.

"Fine then! What did you just do?"

"I thought you said you were cold? I'm warming you so that you won't complain to me until we get to where we're going."

"BUT…BUT…I-I…oh forget it," Aeris groaned, sliding her arms around his neck so she wouldn't fall in case he let go of her. Then she rested her chin on his shoulder so she'd be more comfortable. After all, he WAS warm…and he DID smell sort of good…and he felt so—

_WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU THINKING? SNAP OUT OF IT, AERIS! _Aeris mentally screamed at herself.

Sephiroth, on the other hand, was rather content with having Aeris in this position…

"How long is it going to take to get there?" Aeris asked, disgruntled at the fact that she was still soaking wet AND was being carried in a somewhat…intimate position by the person she hated.

"I'm not sure…maybe about three hours in clear weather but because it's raining so heavy it might take about…five hours or more," the silver-haired man said flatly, walking at a painfully slow pace.

"You can fly, right? Why can't we just fly there? It'd take a lot less time," Aeris tried to reason.

"…No."

"Screw you," the brunette woman hissed, then thought about what she said. "And I DON'T mean that literally?"

"Really? Damn, you got my hopes up," Sephiroth snorted.

"You. Are. A. Sicko."

"I. Don't. Care. Shut. Up."

Aeris sighed, trying to ignore the fact that being held by Sephiroth like this was, unfortunately for her, surprisingly comfortable…and warm…and he smelled strangely good…

_GAH! _Aeris mentally shrieked.

* * *

"…We're here," Sephiroth grumbled after several hours of walking.

"Ugh, finally…you can put me down now…" Aeris muttered, squirming slightly to get out of the man's grip. He opened his coat slightly, letting Aeris fall out. He re-did his coat while she stood up, brushed dirt off of herself and glared.

"What we're going to do is stay here until really early in the morning, because it takes a long time to get to Costa del Sol from here. We're probably going to have to camp out a couple of nights. And if you complain about it I'm going to kiss you again," the ex general explained, heading up the stairs towards the canyon.

"Ugh. Fine…" She looked around the canyon as they reached the top of the stairs. "I wonder if Red's here?"

"Which one was that?"

"…The red one…"

"I can't keep track of these things, damn it, okay? And even if it—"

"He…"

"Even if HE was here, we don't have time to visit."

"Fine."

No one seemed to notice them as they walked up the stone steps and into the Canyon. Aeris looked around the sunset place, smiling. During her travels with Cloud, this was one of her favorite places.

"We aren't here to sightsee!" Sephiroth growled, practically dragging Aeris by her ear to the inn. Once at the inn, he glared at the lady behind the counter. "One room, please. Two beds if possible."

"There's one right down the hallway." She handed him a key nervously. "That'll be 150 gil please…"

Sephiroth glared.

"I-I mean…that'll be 75 gil please…"

"Much better." Sephiroth forked over the seventy-five gil and headed towards the bedroom…which had two bedrooms.

"OH SWEET SALVATION!" Aeris screamed, practically lunging herself at the bed by the window. "I call the window bed! I'm going to go buy a new outfit, okay? Be back later!"  
"WE AREN'T HERE TO—oh, screw it," he grumbled, settling himself in the bed Aeris hadn't clamed.

* * *

Aeris looked through the small section of clothing. Most of the clothes were in shades of brown, but she managed to find some other color. She found a brown traveling bag with a strap that could be used to sling over her shoulder, and picked that out, along with a new comb and a pink toothbrush. She found some brown boots just like the ones she usually wore and bought those, as the shoes she was wearing at the time were worn out and dirty beyond repair. She bought another pair of jeans (ones Sephiroth would like—they fit Aeris well, but were tight around her rear end—but he wouldn't admit to liking that), and found a plain pink T-shirt that she purchased, along with a few undergarments and various toiletries.

That done, she went back to the inn, took a shower, changed into her new clothes, brushed her teeth, and threw her dirty clothes into the washing machine that magically seemed to appear in the bedroom.

Sephiroth was sound asleep, so she decided to go to sleep as well.

* * *

It was early morning, and Aeris was being poked.

Poke.

Poke.

Poke.

Poke.

Poke…

"GAH! WHAT DO YOU WANT!" she screamed, burying her head under the pillow.

"Rise and shine, sweetheart," Sephiroth said, muttering the last word sarcastically. "We're leaving. It's three in the morning. Get your things together and run a comb through your hair. Your hair is making you look like some deranged beast."

"I hate you," she groaned before reluctantly getting up to ready herself for their trip to, gasp, Costa del Sol!

* * *

Yumesuta: Costa del Sol will be next chapter. Please review this one in the meantime! 


	15. Costa del Sol!

Disclaimer: For the love of God. You all know this already…I'm willing to bet none of you read this part anyway…

Note: Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. When I wasn't being lazy I was busy, and when I wasn't busy I was lazy. So…go ahead and smack me for being lazy. Go on ahead and do it.

WARNING: Some parts of this chapter are a little bit perverted. Nothing extreme, but still enough to upset SOME people—like staring at girls wearing two-piece swim suits. Other than that, this chapter's pretty safe, except for this one spontaneous moment that you'll find out about once you read the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 15: Costa del Sol!

"I'm tired," Aeris whined with a sigh, dragging along her booted feet in a dramatically over-exaggerated fashion for the pure purpose of annoying her companion. She had good reason to be tired, though—they had, after all, been travelling since three in the morning and it was, after all, almost noon.

"Stop whining before I hurt something," Sephiroth growled. He wasn't tired. After all, he was a freak of science, and that's the cold, hard truth.

Aeris looked up, tugging slightly at her pink T-shirt. "I think we're getting close," she observed.

"What makes you think that?" Sephiroth challenged, giving her a slight glare.

The pink-clad Cetra pointed to a billboard that boldly read: COSTA DEL SOL, 3 MILES.

Sephiroth stared at the billboard for a minute. "…Damn. Where'd this suddenly come from? And how come it wasn't here when I went nuts and tried to destroy the world?"  
"Oh, it was there. You just destroyed it."

"How come it took so long to rebuild?"

"I don't think people would appreciate a sign not being there when they arrived, then suddenly appearing when they came back."

"…Huh. That made no sense," the ex-General shrugged, and continued walking.

"That's only because you're slow in the head, Sephiroth," said the flower girl as the sky suddenly became overcast and it started raining.

"That was way too sudden," Sephiroth sighed.

"GREAT! IT'S RAINING! So can we rest now?"

"…So you're suggesting we sit out here in the freezing rain just because you're tired?"

"Pleeeeeeeease?" Aeris said, putting on a puppy-dog-face face that was probably slightly hard to see in the sudden, pouring rain.

Sephiroth groaned. "If it will make you stop with that disgustingly innocent facial expression, then fine, but you'll have to sit on the wet, muddy ground."

Aeris nodded eagerly. "That's fine with me!" she giggled, a sigh of relief escaping her lips as she plopped right down onto her behind on the cold, soggy ground.

Sephiroth sat next to the giggly flower girl, sighed, and pondered aloud: "Why does it always have to rain…?"

* * *

Only about ten minutes had passed since the (currently unwilling) couple decided to rest. Aeris hugged her knees against her chest, shivering slightly in the cold rain.

"Seph, I'm cold," she said in a voice that might be taken as a whiny tone.

"Well, you're the one who wanted to rest. If you die of hypothermia, that's your fault. I mean, honestly, you wanted to rest in freezing rain and all you're wearing is some shoes, a pair of jeans, and that short-sleeved cotton T-shirt…oh, and might I add, that red and frilly thing underneath?" Sephiroth said, finishing with a smirk.

"Actually, I bought some plain stuff at Cosmo Canyon so you can't use that against me any more," Aeris said, sticking out her tongue, shivering. "But seriously…I…am…COLD. And if I die of hypothermia, you'll die, too!"

_She's right, you know, _said a mysterious disembodied voice.

"See? The Planet agrees with me," Aeris said, still shivering.

Sephiroth sighed, seated Aeris on his lap, undid his overcoat, and wrapped it around her with some difficulty—he was still wearing it, and leather wasn't a very stretchy thing. But as Sephiroth was a failed God he had an incredibly high willpower (that is, when he wasn't being forced to do something) so he managed to make the leather stretch.

Aeris adjusted herself so that she could wrap her arms around Sephiroth's torso. She was only trying to get warm—and so far, she was succeeding, so who cares if they were in the middle of nowhere, in the freezing rain, in a position that could be considered intimate?

"Thank you," she said sweetly, leaning her head into Sephiroth's chest to try to get the feeling back into her numb cheek.

"Whatever…"

Aeris rolled her eyes and looked up at the man in order to give a witty response to his un-Sephiroth-ish answer, but it just so happened that what she was going to say slipped her mind when their eyes met…

And, somehow, their lips _willingly_ made contact. A very…er…passionate contact…

And then, Aeris came back to her OH-MY-GOD-I-HATE-SEPHIROTH senses, pulled away, and SMACKED him.

* * *

Judging by the warm weather, the sound of the ocean, the brightness of the sun, and the abundance of sand and people in bathing suits…

"We're here! YAY!" Aeris said as they finally reached Costa del Sol after plenty of Sephiroth-getting-smacked and screaming-at-each-other. The rain had let up, too, a few minutes before they arrived.

"Good. I'm going to go rent a room—with TWO beds, damn you—so you go do whatever and I'll meet up with you around here somewhere," Sephiroth grumbled, wondering if the red, hand-shaped mark on his cheek had gone away yet.

"Okay," she said with a nod. "Hey, can I borrow, say, a hundred gil?"

The man forked over a handful of gil that added up to a hundred.

"Where'd you get this money, anyway?" Aeris asked suspiciously, pocketing it.

"I killed a rich person for it."

Aeris glared. "It is NOT socially acceptable to go around killing people!"

"So?"

"Moron," she hissed. "Well…you were gonna go get the room, right? I'm off, then," she said. With that, she went to go pick out a bathing suit.

* * *

"Let's see here…" Aeris muttered to herself, looking through the racks of assorted bathing suits and clothing that the new store in Costa del Sol had to offer. "Oh this one's cute!" she observed, picking out a pink one-piece with sparkly transparent beads going down the middle and around the opening for the head and legs. But she found that it had a rip in a very awkward spot for rips, so she sighed and put it back on the rack.

"Hmm…no, don't want blue…no, I don't want green…whoa, does this one even _cover _anything? Oh…ugh, this one looks more like skimpy bondage gear than a bathing suit…hmm…Seph would probably like it. Not my style though—and since WHEN do I buy clothing because I think Seph would like it? And when did I start calling him Seph!" With an aggravated sigh, she put the "bondage bathing suit" back on the rack and moved over to another rack.

"Ugly color…not cute…doesn't cover anything…rip in it…ah." Aeris picked one off of the rack and examined it for a moment. Then she smiled. "This one's perfect." She went over to the counter to buy it.

* * *

Sephiroth took off his leather overcoat and set in on one of the beds in the nice, large, TWO-BED inn room. He was even nice enough to set Aeris's stuff on the bed next to the window, since in her eagerness to go off on her own she'd shoved her travelling bag into his arms. Besides, he knew she'd want the window bed, and in all honesty, Sephiroth didn't really want to take the window bed. He didn't like sleeping next to windows, for reasons that probably grew out of his unfortunate childhood spent in a creepy lab with a creepy Hojo.

"When is she going to get back…" he mumbled to himself, leaning back against the headboard of his bed. For whatever strange and bizarre reason, he found himself getting anxious—almost looking forward to Aeris's return.

…And that made him upset with himself…

"GOOD GOD I AM A MORON!" Sephiroth bellowed, banging his fist against his forehead once.

"I can't agree with you more, Seph," said a certain voice from the doorway.

Cue staring.

Aeris…was wearing…a two-piece…

No, it wasn't like a bikini or anything. It covered more than most two-pieces did. But still—

_Aeris in a two-piece… _thought Sephiroth, determined to get that image into his brain forever. The bathing suit was white, trimmed with pink, had pink straps, and a somewhat swishy-looking pink-and-white-swirled side skirt. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail.

"…All right, Seph, you can wipe the drool off of your chin now…you're starting to scare me," said Aeris, crossing her arms. It had taken her a little while to break the silence—after all…Sephiroth was shirtless and over half of the female population of the world would gladly stare at that.

"I'm not drooling," Sephiroth quickly said, wiping that annoying little tiny drop of drool off of his chin.

"Oh, yeah, not ANYMORE you aren't," the Cetra woman snorted, rolling her eyes. "…So. Where's YOUR bathing suit?"

"I'm not wearing one," Sephiroth said, even more quickly than he'd claimed he wasn't drooling.

"Oh come on, Seph. You're at the beach, for Holy's sake."

"…When did you start calling me Seph?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know. It's easier to say than Sephiroth though. I mean—'Hey Sephiroth!' 'Sephiroth, come here!' 'Ya-da-da-da-da, Sephiroth, blah-blah-blah.' Seph takes less time to say," Aeris shrugged.

"You have a lazy mouth then," Sephiroth said, then smirked, thinking about their kissing episode. "…Or…maybe you don't. For an innocent little flower girl, you sure can—"

Aeris gave the man a Look. That Look quite clearly stated, "If you finish that sentence, I will kill you!"

"Well it's true," Sephiroth sighed, shaking his head.

"Just because I'm an innocent flower girl doesn't mean I've never had boyfriends before. Zack…Cloud…oh, and there was this one guy in the sixth grade, but it didn't work out because he was an audacious, ignorant, perverted fool. Kinda like you."

Sephiroth was just watching Aeris talk…yeah…two-piece…

Aeris sighed and smacked him across the face. "I'm going down to the beach to swim for a little bit, okay? You can come if you want to…I guess…" She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "But are you SURE you don't want a bathing suit? I mean, yeah sure Seph, you're just wearing your leather pants but you'll still look out of place."

"Of course I will. I have long silver hair and glowing green eyes. I look out of place almost everywhere," Sephiroth said with a shrug.

"…Good point. Well, I'm off to the beach."

* * *

Nothing too exciting happened at the beach—well, other than Aeris and Sephiroth screaming at each other randomly, them (mostly Sephiroth) getting stared at, Aeris smacking Sephiroth a few times, you know. The usual stuff happened.

Before long, it was almost midnight and the pair had to go to bed.

Aeris yawned and plopped down onto the bed next to the window, still in her bathing suit, still slightly wet from swimming.

Sephiroth sat down on his bed, rubbing a sore, red, hand-shaped mark on his cheek that was mysteriously just the size of Aeris's hand.

Once settled in, Aeris rolled over to face Sephiroth. "Hey Seph…?"

He glanced up, letting his hand fall off of the red spot on his cheek. It wasn't too sore any more. "Yes Aeris?"

"Thanks for taking me here, I guess…"

"No problem."

She smiled, yawned, and snuggled once again into her pillows, shutting her eyes.

Sephiroth, knowing she was too tired to care about this now or in the morning, stood up and briefly knelt by her bed, kissing her forehead gently before retreating to his own bed.

_This is impossible, _he thought, closing his eyes. _There's no way I'm falling in love…_

* * *

Yumesuta: Whew, it took me days and hours to write this chapter so I hoped you all liked it. Since it was mostly for the point of developing their relationship, I couldn't include a lot of humor in it. I hope it was funny anyway! Please review and let me know how I'm doing! 


	16. Costa del Sol: Part 2

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Note: Another long wait…sorry about that.

Chapter 16: Costa del Sol: Part 2

* * *

Sephiroth woke up the following morning to the smell of…something cooking. He sat up in his bed and glanced over at Aeris's, only to find that it was empty and neatly made.

He glanced over and saw that she was in the room's small kitchen. _Huh. Didn't know there was a kitchen. Then again, I guess I was too busy staring at her bathing suit, _he thought, shrugging.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Sephiroth asked as he crawled lazily out of his bed.

"Cooking," Aeris answered simply, glancing over at him.

"Okay…cooking what?"

"Breakfast."

"For both of us?"

"Yep," Aeris said, smiling slightly.

"Really? What are we having?"

"Food."

"What **kind** of food?" the man asked through gritted teeth.

"The edible kind!" she said cheerfully, flashing him a friendly smile before turning her attention back to cooking, trying (and failing) to suppress the aforementioned smile.

"…Well, you're in a…frighteningly joyful mood," Sephiroth observed, raising one eyebrow. "Are you alright? You're not drunk, are you?"

Aeris stared at him in a way that plainly said she was sober. "I'm just in a good mood…" she mumbled, nudging the contents of the pan with a thin metal spatula. "Is that a bad thing?"

"It's not a bad thing, it's just…scary."

Aeris rolled her eyes and hit him in on the side of the head gently with the flat side of the spatula, and then decided that Sephiroth's skin particles may not be a very good thing to add to the breakfast. So, she pulled a clean one out of a jar after setting the dirty one by the sink.

"So, why are YOU making breakfast, anyway?" he asked, peering over her shoulder at the contents of the pan, which happened to be pancake batter. "You could have just gone to breakfast at one of the bars."

"Maybe so, but I really don't find drunk people to be good companions."

"Aww, so you prefer me over drunk people? Aeris, I'm touched!" There was a hint of sarcasm in Sephiroth's voice.

She rolled her eyes again. "Go take a shower or something, and I'll tell you when the food's ready."

"Fine by me." With that, he left the small kitchen.

Aeris watched him leave, grinning slightly before giving a little joy-jump, almost knocking the pan off of the stove in the process. (Luckily, she caught it before it hit the ground.) Why was she so happy? Well…

Last night, when he'd kissed her on the forehead before going to bed…

Seems like a simple reason to be happy, but when you were _in love_ (not like she'd ever admit that, of course!), anything cute and soppy like that would make you ecstatic later on.

…At least, until you looked down and found that breakfast was burning.

"…Oops," she muttered, turning off the stove as she eyed her pancakes skeptically. Well…they didn't seem TOO burnt, as in _most_ of the cakes weren't black in many places. Humming, she gently dumped them onto a plate, scraping off the burnt parts with a butter knife.

As Aeris walked up to the bathroom door, she thought about just bursting in…but decided not to. Instead, she knocked and yelled, "Breakfast is ready."

"…Fine. Be out in a minute," Sephiroth yelled back.

As the brunette woman set the table, she counted the seconds: "One…two…three…four…five…" A few moments passed before she said, "fifty-eight…fifty-nine…sixty. So it's been a minute."

"So it has," Sephiroth said from right behind her, startling her. "So…pancakes?"

"Yeah, it's the only breakfast thing I know how to make…uh…they got a little bit burnt, though."

"That's alright, so long as they're still edible," he said, taking a seat at the hotel room's kitchen table. _Well, I guess if Costa del Sol's a resort town, the hotels have to be a little fancy, _he thought before stuffing a large bite, drowning in syrup, into his mouth. In all honesty, he'd expected Aeris's cooking to be crappy—but it was actually not that bad.

Aeris ate a little bit, but mostly, she was watching (read: staring at) Sephiroth while he ate. He ate as though he hadn't eaten in years…and somehow, Aeris found that incredibly attractive—not like she wanted to let that on, of course.

Sephiroth must've noticed that he was being stared at, because when he finished eating, he asked, "Something wrong?"

Aeris jumped slightly, blushing. "Oh! Um…no, nothing's wrong. You just…have some syrup on your chin," she lied lamely.

Sephiroth pulled off his gloves and reached up to touch his chin, then wiped some of the syrup off—because there actually was some on him. He looked at it for a moment and said, "So there is…" Then he smirked, and wiped the syrup off onto Aeris's cheek.

Aeris squeaked in surprise, then smirked back at him and squirted some syrup (it was a squeezy-bottle after all) onto Sephiroth's face. The silver-haired man yanked the bottle from his companion and "accidentally" poured a large amount of the sticky substance onto her head.

"SEPHIROOTH!" she screamed, standing up, glaring at him. Luckily, it was only on her head and not her clothing.

"Oops," he said sarcastically, then stood up as well. "By the way, I used up the last of the hot water."

"You pinhead!"

"Oh but you can always wash your hair in the sink. Here, I'll help you. The pink bottle's your shampoo, right?"

Aeris eyed him suspiciously. "I think I can wash my own hair, mister…"

"Hmm, yes, but I got it on you so I might as well help you get it off."

"You want something, don't you? YOU'RE PLANNING SOMETHING, AREN'T YOU? You'd better not be planning anything creepy!"

"Don't worry about it," Sephiroth said, dragging her to the kitchen sink.

"GAH!" Aeris screeched, wrenching her arm away from Sephiroth. "I can wash my own hair, thanks. If you wanna watch, then watch, but I really don't need any help, okay?"

"Humph," Sephiroth muttered, pretending to be hurt. "All right fine…"

Aeris adjusted the water until it was at the temperature she wanted it to be, then bent over the sink and began scrubbing the stickiness out of her hair.

Sephiroth, of course, was staring at her rear end…

Once Aeris finished washing her hair, she rinsed off and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around her hair. Then, as she turned around, she caught Sephiroth red-handed.

"Enjoying the view, huh?" she teased, yanking the hose off of the sink, pointing it at him like a gun.

"Oh no. Don't shoot me," Sephiroth said sarcastically, holding up his hands in mock surrender.

Aeris smirked and squirted a blast of water at him anyway, laughing. Sephiroth laughed, too, then gently attempted to wrestle the hose away from her.

_This is so weird, _Aeris thought. _It's like we're suddenly getting close…_

Not that she minded, of course.

Once they were both significantly wet, Aeris put the hose back in its place and sighed. "How many days of the month have we been stuck with each other, now? Sixteen?"

"Fifteen," Sephiroth corrected her.

"…You know," Aeris started, rubbing her hair dry with a towel, "at first, I really, really hated this situation…and you. But…now, I think it might not be so bad…"

"Really?"

"Really," she said with a small smile.

"I see…" the man said, then smirked. "I knew you were falling for me!"

"What? HEY! I never said I was falling for you!"

"Not out loud, no…"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing…"

"…Sure. Hey, I'm gonna go out into town and stuff," Aeris said with a shrug, combing her damp hair with her fingers. "So…I'm gonna go change into my bathing suit. You'd better not peek. I mean it!"

"I believe you," Sephiroth said, raising his hands again in mock surrender.

Once Aeris was changed into her bathing suit, the two exited the Inn together. Before they reached the beach, Sephiroth gently turned Aeris so that she was facing him and kissed her.

Aeris shook her head and blushedafter pushing him away. "I told you, I'm NOT falling for you…"

Her voice trailed off when she looked up and saw a very shocked-looking Cloud Strife.

* * *

Yumesuta: Muahaha! Cliffie! Anyway, I know the chapter sucked, so, sorry…I don't think it was as funny as it was last time, so, I apologize for that. My Funny Muse ran away with the plot for this chapter to get married so I have no idea where either of them happen to be. Anyway, review please! 


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